RENO, Nevada – Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign filed a lawsuit Friday against Nevada’s top elections official, alleging that the requirement that independent candidates must name their running mate before beginning to collect signatures for the access to the ballots is unconstitutional.
The filing in Nevada District Court comes a little more than two months after Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar’s office clarified guidance that would likely void signatures Kennedy Jr.’s campaign collected for the election. November because the petition does not include a running mate. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign said in the lawsuit that they received approval in January from Aguilar’s office that allowed them to collect the required 10,095 signatures for a petition that did not include his selection for vice president.
The requirement to name a running mate in the petition, the campaign alleges, violates the First Amendment and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
“The court should prohibit what was utter incompetence or partisan political gamesmanship on the part of the Secretary from invalidating signatures on petitions to which the United States Supreme Court grants the highest protection of the First Amendment,” said Paul Rossi, lead attorney for the campaign, in a statement Monday.
Kennedy Jr. chose California attorney and philanthropist Nicole Shanahan as his running mate in late March, a few weeks after filing the petition.
Aguilar’s office sent correct guidance to all independent candidates who had filed ballot access petitions “well before the deadline to submit signatures, which has not yet passed,” the office said in a statement. The office acknowledged in March that an employee “provided inaccurate guidance to an independent presidential campaign” and clarified that petitions from independent candidates must include a running mate that month.
Candidates have until July 5 to submit a petition to county elections offices with enough signatures to appear on the Nevada ballot.
“Nevada has a rich history of independent and third-party candidates for public office,” Aguilar said in a statement. “Each of those candidates managed to gain access to the ballots following the law. We look forward to seeing Mr. Kennedy’s team in court.”
The lawsuit comes as Kennedy Jr. fights to secure ballot access in states with at least 270 electoral votes by June 20, a requirement to take the stage for a KeynoteUSA debate with President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Nevada’s six electoral votes would bring it closer, although it is still dozens of votes away.
The debate is central to Kennedy’s strategy, allowing him to stand alongside his best-known rivals in overcoming his serious financial deficit and sending the message that he is a viable candidate.
Supporters of Biden and Trump have mobilized against Kennedy, both fearing that his idiosyncratic views and famous last name will tip the balance in favor of their preferred victor. It’s hard to know how Kennedy will affect the race because polls on third-party candidates are notoriously unreliable this far into an election.
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